Spring Training Arrives

The Cardinals opened camp on Wednesday February 14, with Pitchers & Catchers as well as a few others reporting. Albert Pujols, after acing his American Citizenship test showed up with his son A.J., fielding some grounders and spending some time hitting off a tee in the cages. I feel really good about this upcoming season even though there are 59 players at this point. By April 1, that number will be whittled down to a mere 25. Most spots are pretty much spoken for, but there will be plenty of opportunities for the younger players to showcase their skills in the hope of landing a roster spot. The bullpen has enough arms to stock two teams, and several outfielders could be competing for a few backup roster spots. The most interesting thing to watch though, will be the pitchers competing for a spot in the rotation. With Carpenter and Wells being the only sure things, Wainwright (If Izzy’s healthy) and Reyes are pretty much assumed to have a spot as well. The question then becomes who will be the fifth starter till Mulder returns. Will it be Looper? Thompson? Franklin? Those seem to be the three names being tossed around. We will see. One thing is for sure, Spring is here, and the time is near when we will Play Ball.

So there you have it…. Agree? Disagree? Let me hear from you out there….Thanks,Josh